Coming Home
by can08writer
Summary: This is a Richonne one-shot reunion fic if Rick came home two months after Michonne encountered Jocelyn and her killer children.


_**This one-shot takes place two months after Michonne's run-in with Jocelyn and her killer children. It was inspired by a prompt on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy!**_

She felt like she was about to pop. Literally. Siddiq insisted the baby would come any day now, but at this point her baby was overstaying their welcome.

Judith was being adorably helpful. Fetching water, rubbing and kissing Michonne's belly, cleaning her own room… and although Michonne was grateful that she, her daughter, and this baby were all physically healthy after the extreme stress and trauma she'd been through in the last few months, she knew for sure her mental and emotional trauma would take a while to heal from.

She didn't realize how bad off she was until she woke up to Judith's big brown eyes staring down at her. She was shaking her frantically, begging her to wake up. Judith told her she'd been screaming "No! stop it! please!" and she thought someone was attacking her mom.

Michonne had cried that night. She'd cried many nights. Although she couldn't see the X scar on her back unless she maneuvered in front of a mirror, she could feel it all the time. The first few weeks it physically burned and ached. Every time she wore a shirt or a pair of pants it would irritate the wound, reminding her of Jocelyn and those children who she had to end.

Once the X scar healed, she couldn't feel the pain anymore, but it left an internal mark, marring her forever. She knew that there was only one person who could make her feel like everything was okay, and he was gone. So she dealt with her pain, and her trauma, and consoled herself with the thought that she still had Judith, and Rick's baby was alive and well inside of her, and as long as her children lived, so did Rick. She was determined to do whatever it took to make sure that they continued living.

Only a week before, the council had voted to no longer look for or take in people who came to the gates. They had to take care of their own now. Strangers were a problem that Michonne could no longer afford to entertain, and others felt the same.

In this late stage of her pregnancy, Michonne couldn't do much physically, and the intense heat of midsummer had her sweating in places she didn't know could sweat. So one day, she simply decided to cut her hair.

Not all of it, just one side. She sat in front of the bathroom mirror, and trimmed a sizeable portion of hair on the right side of her head, and then folded her remaining locs over to the left side, making a half-mohawk style. When she felt the breeze hit her scalp she was in heaven.

Judith stared at her for a couple of minutes the first time she saw the new hairstyle.

"Are you ok baby?" Michonne asked.

"Mommy, your hair fell out," Judith stated, pointing at the locs littering the bathroom floor.

Michonne laughed and pulled her daughter to herself, kissing her on the forehead.

"It didn't fall out, I cut it baby."

Judith leaned down and picked up a loc from the floor, maneuvering it through her fingers. She held it up to Michonne.

"Can I have one?"

"You want my hair?" Michonne asked, taken aback by her daughter's request.

"Yea so I can have these too, like you," Judith explained, holding the loc up to her scalp and observing herself in the mirror.

Michonne smiled and lifted Judith up in her arms, something she rarely did now due to her pregnancy and Judith's weight, but the occasion warranted it. She held her daughter in front of her and stared into her eyes.

"You don't need my hair to be like me. Know why?" Michonne asked, turning Judith so the two of them could look at each other in the mirror.

Judith shook her head.

"Because you already are like me. I'm your mother. I chose to be, because I love you and you love me. And that means that you have a piece of my love right there in your heart," Michonne said, pressing her hand to Judith's chest. "And there's a piece of your love somewhere in me too. Know where?" Michonne asked.

Judith nodded and pressed her hand to Michonne's heart. "Right here."

"Yes baby, right in my heart too. So you don't need my hair, okay?"

"Okay," Judith agreed, placing the hair into the bathroom garbage. "Mommy is a piece of Daddy's love in my heart too?"

Michonne smiled. Judith never failed to say the most beautiful things sometimes.

"Yes baby, Daddy's love is in your heart too."

"And the baby's heart too?"

"Yes, the baby's heart too."

Judith seemed content with that answer, and she turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, do you like my hair?" Michonne asked, a little self-conscious since it had been so long since she'd had a hairstyle change.

Judith turned around and really studied her mother's face and hair.

"Um… its okay Mommy," Judith said with a shrug before turning around and leaving the room.

Michonne stared after her daughter in shock. Just then, the baby began kicking, the little flutters a reminder that the baby would be making its debut any moment now.

"Well, at least somebody likes it," Michonne muttered, rubbing her abdomen over where the kicking continued.

Early the next morning, Michonne was startled awake by hard knocking. She thought it was Judith knocking on her room door, but within seconds she realized it was someone pounding on her front door. She immediately knew something was wrong.

She jumped out of bed too quickly and felt a painful pull on her heavy belly.

"Oof. Slow down," she chided herself. She took the steps slowly as she made her way downstairs, holding her robe closed since the tie wasn't large enough to keep her abdomen contained anymore.

The banging continued. "Hold on, I'm coming!" She called.

She opened the door and locked eyes with a startled looking Aaron, who's fist was still up, about to knock again.

Anger stirred in Michonne. "It is not even 7am and you made me haul this belly down the steps, this better be…"

"You cut your hair…" he said absentmindedly, but Michonne's stare of death brought him back to his original purpose.

"Michonne there's… someone at the gates."

"Okay?" She asked. "You know the rules Aaron, we don't let anyone in. Direct them to Hilltop if you think they're okay."

"Michonne," Aaron said, giving her a serious look, "you need to see this."

"Now?" She asked, wiping crust from her eyes.

"Yes," Aaron stated, moving past her into the house. "I'll go upstairs and get some clothes for you to put on. Judith needs to come too," and he turned and ascended her stairs without another word.

Ten minutes later, she and Judith were both dressed, Michonne in Rick's blue denim shirt, a tank top, and a pair of stretchy pants. Judith was fussy and half asleep, so Aaron carried her to the front gate.

There was a large crowd gathered around. People were talking excitedly and clumped into groups. When they spotted Michonne and Judith, almost like a wave, the talking ended and people began staring.

Michonne looked around confused, and Aaron gripped her arm tightly, as if bracing her for something.

"Aaron, what is going on?" Michonne asked, but he kept walking her into the midst of the crowd, who parted to make way.

She heard a man's raspy voice. "Where's Michonne? Where is she? Let me go get her!"

Her stomach dropped when she heard that voice. Her knees almost went weak, and she was glad Aaron was still holding on to her. It couldn't be him, right?

When she saw the person that had caused the commotion she froze. Her body was unable to move. Her knees locked in place, and her vision zoomed into his face. Her face drained of all blood, her mouth hung open slightly, and she ceased breathing.

The man took a few hesitant steps towards her, his eyes narrowed, his head tilted to the right. He was breathing heavily, and he took a moment to take in her pregnant stomach, and then her face once again. His mouth opened like he was about to speak, and then it slammed shut and he ran full out towards her.

Michonne was still frozen, her mouth gaping now, tears pouring from her eyes. Aaron was holding her up with one hand, and holding Judith with the other, but he got out of the way as Rick barreled towards her.

Rick came at Michonne quickly, but just before he reached her he slowed down so that he could embrace her as gently as possible. One hand around her back and the other one on the back of her neck, pushing her head gently towards his shoulder.

Finally, Michonne took a breath in, and the breath out was a sob. She still couldn't move, she couldn't even wrap her arms around him, but she allowed her body to melt into his.

Rick was completely holding her up now, her knees had actually collapsed as the sobbing increased. She was weeping now into his shoulder, her eyes closed shut because she couldn't take in any more stimuli.

Rick's arms were like a bear trap, locking her in place against her.

"Mich…" he tried, but her name got lost in a sob. "Michonne," he whispered in her ear. "Michonne."

One of her arms slowly moved up his back, skeptical that she was really touching him. Her hand crept upwards and made its way to the back of his neck where his curls still sat. They were longer now, he hadn't cut his hair since he'd been gone. She buried her fingers in them, grasping on to them with the hopes that he didn't disappear in front of her again.

She took another deep breath, and whispered a stunned "Rick."

He moved his head away from hers for a moment, and held her cheeks in his hands, just so he could study her more closely. Her eyes flicked back and forth, scanning his eyes, the scar right underneath his right eye, the small freckles on his nose from being out in the sun with no sunblock, and his pouty pink lips that she'd teased him about from time to time.

"Daddy?" Judith asked. Michonne had almost forgotten Aaron was still holding her.

When Rick turned and saw his daughter he began to cry harder.

"Judith," he squeaked out. He held onto Michonne with his left arm, and opened his right arm for Judith, who climbed into his arms and wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and middle.

"Oh God," he cried, burying his face into Judith's neck."My girl. My girls," he declared, snuggling into both of them. "I've missed you so much. I love you."

Michonne uttered his name once more, and felt a warm sensation in her lower abdomen. It took a minute for her to realize this warm sensation was now moving down her legs slowly. She stepped back from the hug and looked down at her legs in shock.

"Michonne?" Rick asked.

She felt her legs and realized that they were wet.

"My… my water broke," she said in disbelief.

Hours later, Michonne lay in the bed at the infirmary, with her baby in her arms. Aaron had taken Judith to stay with Gracie for the duration of the birth, but Rick was there with Michonne the entire time, keeping track of the timing between contractions, massaging her back and keeping her calm, and helping her through it. They hadn't had time to discuss anything, everything had happened so quickly, but Rick fell in love with the baby the second he'd made his appearance.

"He's yours," Michonne said to Rick. She suspected he knew it, but she just had to confirm it. She remembered Rick disclosing the drama between him and Lori that resulted in Judith.

"I know it," Rick said with a smile, running his finger down his son's chubby cheek. The baby opened his mouth and let out a yawn, his pink gums shining in the light filtering in through the windows. "He's beautiful," Rick said, choking up. He looked up at Michonne, "just like you."

Michonne grabbed Rick's hand and squeezed. "Like you," she responded.

He kissed her hand and held it against his chest. "Words can't express how much I've missed you. How hard it was to be away from you. After that bridge, I got taken away in a helicopter, against my will. The community I went to fixed me up."

Rick lifted his shirt to show Michonne the gash that went through his stomach and out his back. She gasped.

"It took a few months for me to be able to travel, and when I could, they said they'd only bring me back here when they had reason to. So, I stole a horse and rode back. Took me a month or so of traveling, I had to stop to avoid herds, and inclement weather, and… just obstacles. But here I am," he stated.

He looked down at the baby. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all this by yourself. I should've been there when you found out about our baby, and when you first felt him kick, and the first time you saw him on the ultrasound. I should've been there," he said, wiping his eye with the back of his hand.

A tear escaped from Michonne's eye, and slid down her cheek.

"It was so hard Rick," she said, wiping a tear on her shoulder so she wouldn't disturb the baby. "I didn't know if you were alive, or dead, or a walker. We couldn't find your body and I didn't know what that meant. Daryl and I, we kept looking. Daryl is out there right now, still looking."

Rick smiled, touched that even after all this time Daryl hadn't given up. "We have to send word to him that I'm back," he said with a nod. "What else happened since I've been gone?"

Michonne's lip trembled as she fought back tears.

Rick moved closer, placing a protective hand over the baby's chest, and cupping her face with another. "Who hurt you?" he asked, his eyes simmering with anger. She just had to say the word and whoever it was wouldn't be alive anymore.

"She's dead. I killed her," Michonne stated.

"Her?" he asked.

"A few months ago an old friend of mine showed up. My best friend," Michonne said, shaking her head as she reminisced. "I missed you so much, and I was so glad to have someone to talk to, y'know?"

She stared at the wall as her mind went back to what happened.

"I let my guard down, and she… she kidnapped Judith."

"What?" Rick asked, confusion and then shock on his face.

"She and a group of kids she showed up here with took Judith and three other kids. She just took her. I came to get Judith from her house and she was just… gone."

Rick was speechless. "My God," he whispered.

"Daryl and I went to get her back."

"But a few months ago you were pregnant," Rick said, scrunching his forehead. He looked down at his son, his long eyelashes twitching peacefully.

Michonne shrugged her shoulders. "It was Judith. I was going to get her."

"I should've been there," Rick lamented. "You shouldn't have gone through that alone."

"I had Daryl," Michonne said, placing her hand on him.

"We found my friend, Jocelyn. Her kids tied us up, and they hurt us. Daryl and I. They burned X's into our back."

Rick's eyes flashed with fire, and Michonne thought maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring this up right now. But she wanted Rick to know what she'd been through. What she'd done for their family since he'd been gone.

"We got free, but we had to kill the kids, and Jocelyn, to get Judith back."

"Was she okay?" Rick asked.

"She was. She is. She's talked about Jocelyn a few times, but I don't know how much of it she remembers, and how she remembers it. But they didn't harm her."

"You had to kill the kids," Rick said, repeating Michonne's words. Michonne looked down at her beautiful sleeping son, his hand curled around her finger.

"I did. They tried to kill me. One of them slashed me in my stomach. All I could think of was this was your child inside of me. This was all that was left of you, and I had to protect it. I had to protect my daughter."

She sniffled, and Rick reached up and wiped away the tears that snuck down her cheek.

"I would do it again to protect my babies."

Rick smiled. "So would I."

He stood and walked to the other side of the bed, squeezing into the small space so he could wrap Michonne and their baby in his arms.

"This is the best present I could have ever imagined. I knew I could die on the way back, but I knew I would die if I never came back. I've got to say, I have some great timing."

Michonne laughed and Rick pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. She turned and gazed into his eyes, and they both leaned in, pressing their lips to each other, savoring their first kiss in nine months. Rick moaned and slipped his tongue into Michonne's mouth, delighting in the taste of her. Michonne opened her mouth, welcoming Rick back where he belonged. Appreciating the taste of him. In that moment they forgot all the troubles of the past. Their kisses worked as a pain reliever.

Rick's hand wandered to the side of Michonne's face, and then slid up to her hair, caressing the shortened side.

He leaned back and took in her locs. "New hairstyle?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yea brand new like... last night." She shrugged flippantly, "it was hot."

He rubbed his fingers against her scalp, massaging it. "I love it," he said, kissing her. "I love you," he said, kissing her again.

He looked down at his son, still sleeping peacefully.

"So does he have a name?" he asked, stroking his son's straight but fluffy baby hair.

"He does," Michonne said, gazing at the baby. "His name is Rick."

Rick smiled from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling in the corners, and filling up with tears once again.

"Is it?" he asked. Michonne passed the baby to his father, and Rick examined his son's face with the look of someone watching a miracle.

"Hi there Rick," he whispered. The baby let out a soft squeak, and Rick's heart melted. He smiled and pressed a kiss to his small forehead, and a tear tumbled down his cheek. He pressed his son to his chest, a little overwhelmed about finding his family, and immediately watching his son be born.

"Where's Judith," Rick croaked, his voice breaking from the emotion.

"Siddiq?" Michonne called.

"I'm on it!" he yelled. A few minutes later, Judith entered the room, and her eyes went to the tiny baby in her father's arms.

She let out a gasp. "He's so cute!" she exclaimed. She ran over and pressed her nose into her brother's hair. "He smells good too!"

Rick laughed and held the baby so his sister could see better.

"His name is Rick," Rick said, looking at Michonne gratefully. "Rick Jr."

"I'm gonna call him RJ," Judith decided.

"Good idea," Michonne agreed.

Judith looked up at her father, and a serious mood descended over her.

"Daddy, how did you come back from heaven?" she asked, tilting her head to scrutinize his face.

Rick chuckled and then opened his arm, to allow Judith to climb up on his lap next to her brother.

"I didn't die sweetheart, I got taken far far away. Everyone thought I was dead, but I was just hurt. But you know what?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked.

"I carried a piece of you in my heart, and it brought me all the way back."

"It did?" she asked, subconsciously touching her own heart, "that's what mommy said."

"Yup, it did. That's how I found you. I will always find you," he said, kissing the top of Judith's head. "I love you so much, Judith."

"I love you too, Daddy," she said.

Judith's eyes closed and her lip began to tremble with emotion. She plunged her face into her father's chest. The sight of Judith crying broke Rick. He began to sob, opening his arms wide enough to embrace all three of his favorite people in the world, kissing each of them in turn.

"I love all of you. You're my family, I found you."


End file.
